Cheats, Modifications & Secrets

Like always, sometimes it is good or at least fun to modify the games in a lot of ways in order to improve the experience or to experiment with them, so here's a list of things that you can/discover with Wangan ~~Xtreme Racer~~ Midnight.

Cheats

Disable all mid-race dialog

AC Scenario mode

Steps to activate the cheat:

Choose any starting point and wait for the tollbooth cutscene to end (you can skip it too)
Press the following button combination: L2 + R2 + Select

Notes:

If the command was done correctly, you'll hear the jingle for selecting a character for the car's license plate and you'll proceed as normal.

Mission and Tuning modes

Steps to activate the cheat:

Choose any mission and proceed as usual
Before the screen goes black after the pre-race cutscene ends (the one that goes before the mission briefing screen that also acts as a loading screen), press the following button combination: L2 + R2 + Select

Notes:

If the command was done correctly, you'll hear the jingle for selecting a character for the car's license plate and you'll proceed as normal.

Disable the HUD

At the race pause menu

Steps to activate the cheat:

Press □ + △ at the same time

Notes:

To deactivate the cheat and be able to go back to the pause, just repeat the same combination of buttons again. Sometimes the game may not register the button presses correctly and won't react at all, just do it again until it works.

During a replay

Steps to activate the cheat:

Press the L3 button

Notes:

To deactivate the cheat and be able to see everything, just repeat the same button again. Keep in mind that if the race shows any label regarding distance remaining, it won't be hidden away.

Disable the aura from any driver

AC Scenario mode

Steps to activate the cheat:

Choose any starting point and wait for the tollbooth cutscene to end (you can skip it too)
Press the following button combination: L1 + R1 + Select

Notes:

If the command was done correctly, you'll hear the jingle for selecting a character for the car's license plate and you'll proceed as normal.

Mission and Tuning modes

Steps to activate the cheat:

Choose any mission and proceed as usual
Before the screen goes black after the pre-race cutscene ends (the one that goes before the mission briefing screen that also acts as a loading screen), press the following button combination: L1 + R1 + Select

Notes:

If the command was done correctly, you'll hear the jingle for selecting a character for the car's license plate and you'll proceed as normal.

Early access to the mission mode credits

Steps to activate the cheat:

Get into the Press Start to continue menu
Enter the following command: Right, Right, Right, Right, Down, Left, Up, ○

Notes:

If the command was done correctly, you'll hear the defeat jingle and you'll be redirected to the main menu. The mission mode variant of the game credits can be located at the mission mode menu, in the "Ending movie" option.

Enter the debug menu

Code:

patch=1,EE,D02FCFC2,extended,0000FFF7
patch=1,EE,2014D85C,extended,24040000
patch=1,EE,D02FCFC2,extended,0000FFFF
patch=1,EE,2014D85C,extended,8F848540

Steps to activate the cheat:

Get into the intro cutscene of the game
Keep the Start button pressed until the menu appears

Notes:

The controls for the debug menu are as follows:

Up/Down D-Pad: select a different type of event/option.
Right D-Pad: select a different entry point for the start of the event.
Left D-Pad: select a different time of the start of the event.
X/L1: select a different car (forward).
L2: select a different car (backwards).
△: choose between automatic and manual transmission.
□: activate/deactivate the option to play the chosen mission.
R1/R2: select a different mission (forward/backwards).
R3: select a different movie and replay to be played.
○: confirm the type of event/option that you want to select.
Select: it will play a sound test for the voice that tells you to get into the Shutokou highway in AC Scenario mode.

Each option does the following things, and these are the configurations that work for each of them:

Free run: race around the entire place without any time limits/rivals to beat.
- Car: -
- Entry point: -
- Transmission: -
- Notes: there's no visible HUD during the mode, and the pausing the game hardlocks it.

Quick: if the Scenario (Cutscene) option is deactivated, you will get the AC Scenario mode, but if not, you will instead do the mission from Mission mode that you have selected.
- If AC Scenario mode is selected:
  - Car: -
  - Entry point: -
  - Time of day: -
  - Transmission: -
  - Notes: all of the cars are selectable, even the ones disabled specifically for this mode.
- If Mission mode is selected:
  - Mission: only the missions that are accessible under normal circumstances.
  - Notes: each win/lose will count towards your stats.

Time trial: it is just the Time Trial mode if the Scenario (Mission mode) option is deactivated, but if it is activated, you will get the mission selected but you won't have any rival to race against nor any objective to fulfill altogether
- If the scenario option is deactivated:
  - Car: -
  - Entry point: -
  - Transmission: -
  - Notes: -
- If the scenario option is activated:
  - Mission: -
  - Transmission: -
  - Notes: -

i.Link: it just boots the game to the title screen, presumably it would start a standard i.Link multiplayer race, but that's not possible to know since PCSX2 does not support such feature at the moment.

Replay: if Scenario (Mission mode) option is deactivated, you will play the selected replay file, but if said option is activated, you will get the cutscene for AC Scenario mode corresponding to the chosen car, but then you will play the mission selected.
- If the scenario option is deactivated:
  - Replay file: only the replay files that are accessible under normal circumstances.
  - Notes: selecting an non-existent replay file will crash the game.
- If Mission mode is selected:
  - Mission: only the missions that are accessible under normal circumstances.
  - Notes: each win/lose will count towards your stats.

Movie: it reproduces the credits mission mode sequence or the intro movie.
- Movie: if set to 0, it will reproduce the intro movie, but if set to 1 or 2, it will play the ending movie.

Intro movie: it will play the AC scenario cutscene for the car chosen (even if the car is not available for that mode). Then, if the Scenario (Cutscene) option is deactivated, you will get the AC Scenario mode, but if not, you will instead do the mission from Mission mode that you have selected.
- If AC Scenario mode is selected:
  - Car: -
  - Entry point: -
  - Time of day: -
  - Transmission: -
  - Notes: all of the cars are selectable, even the ones disabled specifically for this mode.
- If Mission mode is selected:
  - Mission: only the missions that are accessible under normal circumstances.
  - Notes: each win/lose will count towards your stats.

Staff movie: it will play the credits staff of the AC scenario mode with the car selected.
- Car: -

Select: it boots the game into the title screen

Test mode: it loads the configuration menu for the arcade game Wangan Midnight R, and when exited, it tries to load the selected replay file.

MCDTest: it plays the selected mission after the cutscene that preceeds it.
- Mission: only the missions that are accessible under normal circumstances.
- Notes: each win/lose will count towards your stats.

Mission: it reboots the game

Intro: it boots the game into the title screen

Error: it goes to a black screen

Make your car emit some specific effects

Broken engine smoke

Steps to activate the cheat:

Hold the Start button before selecting your car of choice

Notes:

If the command was done correctly, you'll hear the jingle of low time remaining. To make use of the cheat, hold the R3 button at any point during the event and it'll emit smoke from the back.

Sparks effects exaggerated

Steps to activate the cheat:

Hold the Select button before selecting your car of choice

Notes:

If the command was done correctly, you'll hear the jingle of low time remaining. To see the cheat in action, make sure to pick up some proper speed and then break, you'll see the car's emitting way more sparks than what should produce.

Skip the tollbooth cutscene in AC Scenario mode

Steps to activate the cheat:

Choose any starting route and time
Before the screen goes to black, hold the R2 button

Notes:

While you can already skip the tollbooth cutscene by just pressing the △ button, this cheat allows you to avoid loading it completely, even the text that shows the time where you enter the highway.

Show the replay's telemetry

Steps to activate the cheat:

Press the Select button at any point during a replay

Notes:

To deactivate the cheat and be able to see everything, just repeat the same button again. Keep in mind that the telemetry HUD won't be disabled if you disable the replay HUD.

Unlock the Jukebox without unlocking all of the cars

Steps to activate the cheat:

Get into the Press Start to continue menu
Enter the following command: Left, Down, Down, Right, Up, Right, Right, Right, Right, Up, ○

Notes:

If the command was done correctly, you'll hear the victory jingle and you'll be redirected to the main menu. The Jukebox menu resides at the far-right of the main menu.

Modifications

Widescreen aspect ratio (16:9)

Code:

patch=1,EE,0017be24,word,3c073f40
patch=1,EE,001e2aac,word,3c033f40

Notes:

Only the in-game parts of the game (including the car models when picking them) are in proper widescreen, the rest is still in 4:3.

Secrets

Censored license plate names

Steps to activate the secret:

Pick any car and transmission
Select any of the following names for the license plate of your car:

Controversial organizations

Name	Reason
AUM	Aum Shinrikyo, a Japanese doomsday cult
ETA	Euskadi Ta Askatasuna, separatist Basque group
GIA	If translated to French, it would be the acronym for Groupe Islamique Armé, an isurgent Islamic group from Algeria
IRA	Acronym to Irish Republican Army, a name used by various resistance groups in Ireland
KKK	Acronym for Ku Klux Klan, an USA reactionary group
PKK	In Kurdish, it refers to Partiya Karkerên Kurdistanê, which translates to Kurdistan Workers' Party, an armed guerrilla movement
PLO	If translated to English, it would be the acronym for Palestine Liberation Organization
RAF	Red Army Faction, a West German communist guerrilla group

Profanity/Slurs/Sexual references

Name	Reason
ANO	Spanish colloquial way of saying penis
ARS	Hebrew slang term for pimp
ASS	English synonym for butt
AZZ	The word looks and sounds very similar to ass, an already censored word
BIT	A shortened version of the word bitch in English
CAZ	First three letters to cazzo, which in Italian means dick, cock or prick
CUL	French vulgar way of saying butt
CUM	In English, a colloquial way of saying semen
DIC	The first three letters to the English word dick
DIK	The word is just the English word dick, but taking out the letter C from it
DOO	In English, is a slang term often used to refer to the word excrement
FCK	Said out loud, it sounds exactly like the English word fuck
FU	Acronym for the English phrase fuck you
JAP	Shortened version of the word Japanese, considered an offensive term in some countries
MRD	Merde without the vowels, which means shit in French
NIG	First three letters of the word nigger, a racial slur often used in English-speaking languages
NIP	Shortened version of Nippon, the Japanese way of saying the country of Japan. It is considered an offensive term in some countries.
PEO	Vulgar acronym for the English phrase peice of shit, which is a variant of the (also vulgar) phrase piece of shit
PIP	Acronym for the sexual term penis in pussy
PIS	First three letters of the English word piss
PNV	Acronym for the English phrase penis in vagina
POO	In English, it is a colloquial way of referencing someone's feces
PSS	In English, it can refer to the word piss without the vowels
SEX	Another way of saying sexual intercourse in English
SHT	Taking out the vowels of the English word shit
SOB	An acronym for the English phrase son of a bitch
SUC	Almost sounding like the verb suck in English, a verb often used in the context of sex.
TIT	Colloquial way of saying breasts in English
UTA	Acronym for the English phrase up the ass, a term that is used to describe certain sexual acts
WNK	Phonetically speaking, it almost sounds like the English verb to wank, a informal variant of the verb to masturbate

Other reasons

Name	Reason
666	The number of the best, at least according to most manuscripts of the New Testament
LSD	When translated to German, it is the acronym for Lysergsäure-diethylamid, a very popular psychedelic drug
PCE	A drug called Eticyclidine, it is drug with relative similar characteristics to PCP (the latter being commonly known as "angel dust"), but more obscure due to its unpleasant taste and tendency to cause nausea

Notes:

While not necessarily a secret by the usual definition, it's interesting to see how Genki decided to apply such censorship, specially if we take into consideration that the game was released only in Japan.

Change the song of a replay file for the opening song for the AC scenario mode

Steps to activate the secret:

Before entering a replay file, hold the R2 button.

Notes:

Restarting the replay file (by pressing the Start button) without pressing the button will deactivate the cheat, although doing it while pressing the R2 button will keep the song.

Also keep in mind that the replay file must be longer than 2 minutes in order to the cheat be triggerable.

Choose what tuner to get in the 3rd and/or 4th missions of Tuning mode

Steps to activate the secret:

Before pressing X or ○ to select the third and last character for your vehicle, hold Select, press one or two of the following buttons followed and then confirm the last character without letting go none of the buttons pressed.

- L1: Jun Kitami
- L2: Rikako Ohta
- R1: Kazuhiko Yamamoto
- R2: Kazuo Ohta

Notes:

If the command was done correctly, you'll hear the game over jingle and you'll proceed as normal. Also, if you press L1 and L2 at the same time, L1 will be the button taken into consideration (the same applies for R1 and R2).

Play Mission mode in a harder difficulty

Steps to activate the secret:

Unlock Tuning mode
Select any mission to play
Press the Start and Select buttons at the same time before the VS screen shows up

Notes:

If the command was done correctly, you'll hear the jingle of going backwards and you'll see the VS text (in the mission briefing scene that acts as a loading screen) and the replay name file in red. This mode only adds one lose condition: crashing onto anything will be an instant loss.